PMD: Auras of Evolution
by Aureiko
Summary: Why do Pokemon exist? What is my purpose in life? I became a researcher to find the answers to these questions. Little did I know that the answers would find me - and take me away from both my humanity and my Pokemon. I don't know what's going on anymore... but I'm going to find out, even if it kills me.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note for the Entire Story:** I'm posting this story to see if I should bother continuing it. I have written a few chapters and will post both the prologue and the first chapter today, and if it is well received, I will continue the story :). If not, I will focus my time on other projects.

I have the entire story plotted down already and will resolve to see this finished if this miniature test works out well. So, please, if you are one of the first people to read this, and if you enjoyed the story, leave me a little note.

A thing you should know: you do not have to review. As long as people enjoy reading my work, I'm not bothered either way. If you can find flaws in my writing, I ask that you to point them out to me so I can fix them. (If you are one of the first readers, though, I'd greatly appreciate any form of feedback, although I do not want you to feel obligated to do so. No worries either way!)

That is all. Please enjoy the story.

* * *

 **Prologue:** A Question

* * *

 _Where do Pokemon come from?_

Over time, people have come up with theories, some as elaborate as a big bang, and others as simple as a grand creator. Aside from those theories, we don't have any definite answers.

But if I've learned anything, it's that there is always an answer. All one must do to find it is look.

I guess that's why I became a Pokemon Researcher. Professor Sycamore took me in as one of his field assistants. He gave me my starter Pokemon and sent me across the region in search of Kalos' mythos. He wanted me to study evolution, which was fine by me. Evolution, I surmised, plays a big part in the existence of Pokemon, and understanding evolution is crucial to understanding them as well.

And right now, I was so close to that understanding.

These ruins are the only things standing in my way. From what I can gather from the ancient symbols and text, these ruins were once home to a Pokemon called Yveltal—or maybe Xerneas. It was hard to interpret the ancient text accurately.

The wall in front of me, however, was written in easily translated Pokémon footprint script: _Sacrifice is key._

What did that mean?

My loyal companion and starter, Wes the Charizard, grumbled. " _I do not like this, Trainer._ _A sacrifice? That cannot be good._ "

Wes often assisted me in my research. He was a real asset when traveling in dangerous territories, but I tried not to make a habit of it: he _is_ my only Pokemon, after all.

"You're probably right. But we have to proceed. The answer is here. I know it."

Wes eyed me wearily. " _That is not an excuse to act rashly._ "

"Eh. We'll be fine." It wasn't that I didn't take him seriously, but Wes was overly cautious. A sacrifice could mean anything, especially in ruins. I mean, if all I had to do was slaughter one Mareep… but I had a feeling it was more than that.

" _… Trainer?_ " Wes nudged me with his paw. " _What do you think it means?_ "

I paused for a moment. "A sacrifice…? Don't legends say that Yveltal collected the souls of a thousand Pokemon before entering its slumber? Perhaps it means more Pokemon must be sacrificed to awaken them?"

" _If that is the case, then it is better we leave, don't you think?_ "

Another dead end. And I was so close, too.

"Yeah, you're probably right…" The walls turned into a distinguished bright green. "Huh? Wes, are you seeing this?" He nodded his head furiously. "Hmm, I wonder what—ah! What the heck is going on here?"

The Pokéglyphs and Pokémon footprint script glowed a sunset orange and came off its ruins. They swarmed around me and started spinning, and spinning, and spinning.

I didn't have a clue what's going on—for all I know, this was a trap planted by some ancient psychic Pokemon to drain all my energy. It wouldn't be the first time ancient ruins were rigged with traps. Most people would be scared, but not me. No, I was _fascinated_.

Everything looked so real. Could those glyphs really be coming off the walls? Why are they glowing colors, and why orange and not another color? I didn't understand a thing that was going on, but that only excited me further: I needed to know more.

" _Nathan!_ " Wes roared. He unleashed a furious flamethrower, but a green barrier erected itself around me and absorbed the attack. Wes let out a cry and charged at the barrier, his body burning up in the hot blue flames of the Flare Blitz. He collided with the barrier, but to no avail. He was effortlessly tossed aside.

The barrier glistened and rapidly spun in circles, the symbols shined, and everything was starting to turn white.

Wes' frustration quickly vanished in favor of desperation. He got back up and lunged, his wings turning into steel. The barrier crackled, but otherwise showed no signs of giving in.

Through it all, I was perfectly calm. My vision was fading, sure, but there was a warm, soothing sensation flowing through me. A huge grin formed on my face and, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get rid of it.

I tried to tell Wes not to worry, but for some reason, my voice wouldn't work. My vision was fading alarmingly faster now—I could no longer see Wes.

The last thing I remember seeing through the corner of my eye was a pair of iridescent blue eyes before everything went black.


	2. Chapter One: Where Art Thou?

**Chapter One:** Where Art Thou?

* * *

 _Hello there, Nathan!_

 _In just a few moments, I am going to guide you through a portal that leads to a world only inhabited by Pokemon._

 _But before we go, I need to… know more about you! So, if you'd please, stretch out your hands for me._

 **Uh, like this?**

 _Perfect! Now… let's see… aha! Would you look at that? Your aura—it's a brilliant pink!_

 **P-pink?**

 _Now, there are a few questions I must ask you before we go. Think you can manage that?_

 **Wait! Could you please tell me what's going on? The last thing I remember were glowing glyphs, a spinning barrier, and a big flash of white . . .**

 _I'm afraid I do not know. I am merely the guide between your world and this one—the reasons for which you are here is something beyond my power._

 **Oh. Really?**

 _Afraid so. Now, for my first question: what is your purpose in life?_

 **I… I don't know? But that's why I became a researcher—because I desperately want to find out. Our past, our future—it fascinates me. I think, once I've discovered our origins and uncovered the truth, I'll become that much closer to recognizing my true purpose.**

 _Hmm... what an unusual answer. How strange..._

 _Let me ask another question. What do you think about fighting?_

 **Fighting is exhilarating. I mean, I wouldn't have become a Pokemon trainer if I didn't like battling, would I? Although it's mostly my Pokemon who battle. I've never been in a fight myself…**

 _Oh! I see!_

 _As a trainer, how do you function? What's your training style?_

 **Well, I like to train my Pokemon past their limits, but I don't like working them too hard—if my Pokemon strain themselves, they won't see optimal results.**

 **As far as my training style… my team is more like a group of friends than anything. I don't rule with an iron fist, and we all work together to make decisions.**

 **Does that answer your question?**

 _Indeed it does. Thank you._

 _OK Nathan! I think I've got an idea who you're supposed to . . . oh! How strange!_

 **What is it?**

… _I'm sorry. Something had distracted me. But it is of no consequence._

 _Now… taking in your answers carefully and the nature of your soul… I'd say you're quite the explorer, aren't you?_

 **You could say that again!**

 _You like to tests the limits of your knowledge and abilities. You try to transcend your limits and ultimately become a better person because of it._

 _But you act rashly. You don't always think things through. You allow the rushes of thrill to cloud your judgment, and you're not very cautious, are you? Things that faze other people don't quite catch you off guard._

 _Yet… I can pick up a sense of insecurity. You're not always sure of yourself, no matter how hard you try to be. You're not as strong as you'd like to be, either. You depend on others to help you and guide you, although you desperately wish to become more of a leader yourself._

 _You... your character... it's that of a_ _ **Clefairy**_ _!_

 **What! A Clefairy? Seriously?**

 _Of course. Now—we're about to cross the portal! I wish you the best of luck in all your endeavors, little human. From the looks of things, you're going to need it._

 **-o-o-o-**

Things got weird from the moment I opened my eyes. Everything was huge and unfamiliar—large, beautiful orange-leaved trees stood unnaturally tall and all around me. The most peculiar part about them, though, was that they didn't seem right. They were in neat little rows, lined up in symmetrical perfection. The trees looked identical to each other, too, right down to the crevices in their barks.

And when I say things were huge, I mean it. Even the grass blades seemed to reach up to my knees... wait a minute. Are my knees pink?

My hands, too—they're pink, stubby paws, with only three digits. Now that I think about it, my hearing was off as well, at least in the sense that it didn't feel normal. I couldn't feel a single breeze, yet, I could still hear it, almost like an echo in my ears. And _what is that I feel around my butt_? Is that a _tail_? Are those… _wings_ I feel at my back?

I don't know what' going on, but I think it's safe to say I'm no longer human. Whatever I've turned into, it's obviously smaller than I was, since there's no way there can be this many trees that huge. A hurricane of questions tackled me at once: Why am I not human? What am I doing here? _How_ did I get here? And how can I turn back into a human?

So, in other words, I have questions that I'm probably not going to get answered for a while. It was like a cruel metaphor for my life. Well, I'll be damned if I don't get _some_ answers. Outside of these woods, there has got to be some kind of city I can get to. Perhaps I can talk to someone there. Now I've just got to find a way out of this place.

The trees' rows made the grass fields look like paths, which, as I said before, is kind of weird, but it made navigating through these woods slightly easier. Of course, just as things were making a little bit of sense—I was certain I was close to finding the exit—things decided to get even more strange.

"Lii-noone!"

Behind me, a Pokemon had its hindquarters raised; its jaws held back into a snarl, its claws curled into the grass.

I didn't understand what it was trying to tell me, but I think _Don't mess with me!_ is universal.

I put my hands up—or paws, I guess—and took a step back. "I, um, don't mean you any harm, Mr.—uhm—Linoone?—but if you'd excuse me, I really must get going…"

"LII!"

What happened next was bizarre. It lunged, its claws outstretched, attempting to nail my face. But it happened so slowly—I simply sidestepped, and watched, retaining an odd urge to laugh, as the Linoone missed.

Its frustration was evident. It was hissing at me, its mouth salivating.

A feeling panged through my chest. I couldn't identify what it was, but I knew I had to get rid of it. I took a deep breath and felt the feeling flow from my chest and into my lungs. Then I let it loose. A pink wave of energy escaped from my mouth and smacked the Linoone.

The results were sudden. Its eyes went wide and it curled up into a ball, trembling. Blood pumped through my arms. An impulse took over me and before I knew it, I ran towards the Linoone and smacked its face repeatedly with my paws.

It didn't feel like normal slaps, though. Each hit clearly stung the Pokemon, and I could feel heat compressing itself into my palms. How was I doing that? I didn't know, but I can tell you one thing: it was exhilarating. Fighting like this was something I've never experienced before. It was new, in a good sort of way.

Then, things got weird again: the Linoone disappeared. As in, it vanished. Gone. Nowhere to be seen.

God, the sooner I got out of these woods, the better. I took a right into a room that was much wider than the narrow path I was on before. There was something in the middle of the room that was clearly out of place: a staircase. They clearly led up, but to what I don't know.

Wait a second. A _staircase_? Shouldn't there be a sky above me? Oh my God— _there isn't a sky_! Instead, there was a ceiling of all things.

This day just keeps getting more and more bizarre by the minute. But it seemed that the staircase was the only way forward.

Of course, when I decided to proceed towards the stairs, they, too, vanished. Gone, just like the Linoone. The woods—or whatever this place is—suddenly grew darker, like a candle being snuffed out. A sudden breeze rushed through, scraping my skin (or is this stuff fur?) and rustled through my ears.

A Mudkip, wearing a bag over its shoulder, ran towards the place the stairs had been. Its eyes were as wide as saucers, and its mouth was open in disbelief. It paced around where the staircase had been, even going as far as digging its paws into the grass.

The Mudkip grimaced. "Oh no. No, no, no, no, no. This cannot be happening."

Did that Pokemon just talk?

Stranger things have been happening, I suppose. I slowly walked over to the Mudkip. Maybe it had answers for me…

"Excuse me?" The Mudkip turned around, startled. "Do you know the way out of here?"

The Mudkip made a screech that could rival a Zubat's. "The way out is gone! The staircase was the _only_ way!"

"You mean the staircase that just vanished?"

Mudkip started crying. "This can't be happening. This _cannot be happening to me!_ "

"Calm down there, everything's going to be fine."

"N-no, it won't! You don't understand!" Mudkip was still crying, its feet shaking with fear. " _We're trapped down here! We're going to die!"_


	3. Chapter Two: Step Up

**Chapter Two:** Step Up

* * *

"What? That doesn't make any sense." I put a paw to my chin. "This is a forest. There has to be an exit somewhere."

The Mudkip sniffled and started to stammer. "T-this isn't a f-forest. It's… it's a Mystery Dungeon."

"A _Mystery Dungeon_?" If this was a dungeon, than that would explain _some_ things—but I don't know. How could a dungeon do all this?

The Mudkip's body shook nervously. "W-we have t-to find a n-narrow path. It's our only chance."

"Chance for what?"

A huge wind rushed in. It wasn't the small little breeze from before, either, but a huge, raging whip. A strange sensation tingled at every sense in my body. It was like something crawled up my spine and then rushed up into my wrists. The temperature dropped several degrees in the room, and whatever was lighting up the forest instantly gave out. It was suddenly pitch black dark.

Mudkip grabbed my paw and squeezed. "We have to find a narrow path! We _have_ to!"

"Well, I just came from one over there—"

"Quickly! We have to _move it_!"

Then, from behind us: "LIIIIIIII-NOOOOOOO!"

Purple eyes, surrounding the two of us, everywhere.

Mudkip shrieked. "Not the monster house. Not now. No, no, no, no, _no_!" Mudkip had tears streaking down its face, legs trembling.

The winds from earlier whipped stronger.

"NOOOONNE!"

There it was, right there, in front of me; the Linoone. Before I could even process it. It just _appeared_. It looked just like the one I had just fought, only this one had eerie, dark black stripes and purple eyes instead of dark brown stripes and blue eyes.

And this one was another one; the same pairs of eyes watched us from the sides. This one... it was like it teleported or something!

I turned to Mudkip. "H-how did it do that?"

"It's the dungeon. The Pokemon here are not real. They're distortions of reality." Mudkip gulped. "B-But don't let that fool you, because—"

The Linoone lunged. This time, I didn't even see it. It just lunged, and then pain exploded on my face and a grunt escaped me. Don't ask me how, but I could sense it behind me, preparing to strike again.

It leaped again. My instincts told me when it would, and I sidestepped at precisely that moment. Its claws sunk into the air, grasping at nothing. The venom could clearly be heard in its voice, in its deep-throat growls.

The Pokemon tackled me, its claws gripped around my throat. I struggled against its hold but it was no use. It was too strong. The Mudkip yelped and frantically took steps back. Everything suddenly got colder, and my lungs were burning. A surge of anger... and then there was the energy. There was nothing else I could call it. It began coursing through me. It was a warm and invigorating feeling. My body was pumped, my senses were heightened, and I could feel it flowing through all of my veins, even so much as oozing out my wings.

I lifted my arms up, and a powerful flash erupted. The Linoone let out a cry of pain and went flying off me. The other pair of eyes vanished with the light, more hissing, and then, there was eight of them, bleeding and flailing and groaning in pain. The pink flashes of light continued to pulse from me and all around the room. Then there was a pushing feeling, a tug, and then—right there, in front of us, there it was: the staircase.

"Mudkip, look! It's the staircase! Come on! Let's go before it disappears!"

Mudkip just stared. "Y-you were g-glowing. H-how did you do that?"

I shrugged. "I have absolutely no idea. But we have more important things to worry about—like the staircase!" One of the Linoone whined. I turned around towards it, but it was flailing around on the floor, clutching its paws at its eyes.

That Linoone weren't going to be getting back up soon, that's for sure, but something in the corner of my eye caught my immediate attention: more Linoone with glow-in-the-dark black stripes and purple eyes, headed straight for us!

"Come _on_. We don't have much time!"

The Mudkip nodded, and together, we climbed the stairs upward.

 **-o-o-o-**

"We did it!"

The Mudkip had the biggest grin I'd ever seen. The moment we ascended the stairs, we were out of the woods. One moment I'm climbing up stairs and the next thing I know the woods are behind me and the midnight starry skies were above.

It made absolutely no sense at all.

Perhaps the Mudkip could answer a few questions. "So, Mudkip—"

"It's Matilda."

"Excuse me?"

The Mudkip smiled. "My name is Matilda."

"Oh..." I fiddled my thumbs together. "Sorry about that. So, Matilda—what the heck is going on? I still don't get this whole Mystery Dungeon thing."

Matilda put a paw up to her chin. "Oh. Well, Mystery Dungeons are an enigma of sorts. They don't follow the rules of normal places. Some say they're distortions of space and time, while others claim that they're embodiments of the Distortion World."

"Whoa, back up there. Rules? What do you mean by that?"

Matilda laughed. "Hard to say. The rules have been changing a lot lately."

"You're not making any sense! What rules? How are they changing?"

Matilda sighed. "You're asking too many questions. I don't know about you, but I'm really tired. Why don't we go back to Pokemon Square and talk about it in the morning?"

"Pokemon Square?"

"Yeah." Matilda tilted her head. "It's the only town close to us in, like, miles. Where else would we be going?"

Town? Does she mean city? Are we in Sinnoh or something? It's probably best I don't say anything though. I don't know where I am here... things might be different than what I'm used to. I put a paw to the back of my head and gave Matilda an innocent smile. "Oh yeah... of course. I'm just so hungry that I forgot where I was headed, you know?"

The Mudkip turned her head to me. "You're not from around here, huh?"

Hopefully I didn't look as nervous as I felt. "E-excuse me?"

"Well? I'm right, aren't I?" She was staring at me intently. I turned my head and avoided her gaze. She laughed. "Ha! It's obvious. I mean, there aren't many Clefairy around these parts, y'know."

Clefairy? Is that what I turned into? Oh my God... Out of all the things I get turned into, a _Clefairy_?

I'd ask why, but I'm not sure I want an answer on that one.

Matilda rambled on. "Tell you what! I'll let you stay at my place for the night. It's the least I can do."

"Really?" I asked grinning.

She shrugged. "Sure. Besides, there's a few things I've got to ask you in the morning, too... oh look! We've made it! Pokemon Square is just over this hill!"

 **-o-o-o-**

"This is your home?"

It was a house shaped into the head of a Lucario—seriously, down to even the ears on the side, with glass windows for its eyes.

Matilda smacked me. "Shhh. Be quiet. My brother is sleeping, and you don't want to wake him up."

"Oooohhh. I didn't know you had a brother. I'll be quieter. Promise."

A deep voice grumbled. "That won't be necessary."

Standing by the doorway was a Lucario. His face was rugged and his eyes were piercing. It seemed as though he was analyzing me—scratch that, the way his eyes turned into a darker blue as they scanned me up and down _guaranteed_ that he was doing exactly that.

Matilda ran and tackled the Lucario. "Oh brother! I'm so happy to see you!" Oh my, was she crying? She was definitely crying. _Why_ was she crying? "You won't believe what happened in Sinister Woods. I-I almost d-died."

The Lucario ran his paw down her head fin. "Don't worry, sis. Everything's going to be fine." He glared at me over his shoulder, and spoke to his sister. "Why don't I take you inside and lie you down. You can tell me what happened in the morning."

The Lucario picked up a sobbing Matilda over his shoulders. He turned around to me. "You better come in, too."

Something about him was unsettling me, but I couldn't place a finger on it. Still, these two were the closest I was gonna get to getting some answers. It was better to just stick around with them for now.

I followed Lucario into their home.

It was a big place. I don't know why, but I wasn't expecting that. There were torches emitting a soft light on the sides of the walls, and there were wood table, and baskets full of apples next to them. At the far end of the house was a gigantic heap of straw—judging by the way the straw was tossed and turned, it was probably a substitute for a bed. Lucario placed Matilda down on the straw and moved the stuff around to cover her like a blanket.

He put a paw to her forehead and whispered in her ear: _sleep tight, sis._ I don't know how I heard him, but I did. He then got up and turned toward me again. "Who are you?"

"Uh, my name is Nathan. I'm a Clefairy."

The Lucario's eyes bored into mine. "My name is Shane. I'm a Lucario—and I'm also not a liar. You, on the other hand..." He bared his teeth. "You're clearly lying to me, _human_."

The room was silent. All that could be heard was the cracking sound of the torch fire. How did he know? I didn't tell anyone I was human, yet he knew. He knows about me!

Wait. Maybe this wasn't a bad thing. Maybe he had answers. I forced myself to relax and smile. "Well, Shane, you're far more perceptive than I thought. Yes, I'm a human. How did you know that?"

His gaze was unwavering. "Your aura is human. It is so bright that any aura user for miles could see it."

Oh. That's right. Lucario have the ability to sense aura.

"I see." I frowned. "I had hoped that maybe you knew something about why I've become a Pokemon, or what I am doing here, but it seems you merely sensed my humanity. You probably know nothing else about me."

Shane stopped glaring at me and looked away. "Well, Nathan, I might not know why you have become a Pokemon or what you are doing here, but... I do have a favor to ask of you."

"A favor?" I know I heard him correctly, but—what could I possibly do for anyone here? I don't even know the _rules_ , whatever the heck _those_ are supposed to be. How could I do anything substantially helpful?

"Yes, a favor." He did nothing to hide the annoyance in his voice. "I need your help. You see, there's—"

"SHANE!" A Whiscash stormed in, panting. "We've got another one. It came from the tower."

Shane's eyes went wide and he visibly tensed. "Is this one alive?"

"Barely," the Whiscash said. "You better come see yourself."

Shane turned to face me. "Nathan, you better come with me. It's probably best you see this, too."

What could Shane possibly want to show me? And what help could I be—what favors could I do? I'm like a Magikarp out of water in this place. Everything here is so unfamiliar and new, and it's all I can do just to make sense of it all.

Still, I suppose it was worth listening to Shane. I stuck closely behind Shane as the Whiscash lead through Pokemon Square.

I didn't get much time to really look at Pokemon Square back when Matilda was rushing me, but now, I could see just how marvelous it was. The Square had buildings constructed in the faces of Pokemon, wooden cabin homes built on the sides. And there was also as gigantic building. How I missed it before, I had no idea. Pokemon were out and about, too, which was strange, considering it was stone quiet and barren when I passed here with Matilda.

Whiscash lead us through the groups of Pokemon and towards this enigma of a building. The tower was surrounded by water, and there was a sign out front that read _Whiscash's Pond_.

The tower was black and purple, and could be best described as Japanese gothic-styled. The top of the tower was lost above the skies—from here, it was impossible to tell just how high the building went.

The tower in and of itself was impressive and unusual. But no, the tower was not the most unusual thing. That title belonged to the thing lying out in front of the tower. There was a team of Chansey with medical supplies scampering around it, so it was hard to get a good look.

When I had finally got a good look, though, my eyes almost popped out of their sockets. It was bleeding, it was bruised, it was cut, and it was barely breathing.

It had two arms that were soaked in blood, two legs that had several deep gashes, and its back (which was covered in scrapes and blood) had a bone sticking out of it.

I think I finally understood why Shane wanted me to see this with him.

It was hard to believe, but there was no doubt in my mind: that thing on the ground... it was a human.


End file.
